How to Unclog a Boiler Circulator

What is the Purpose of a Boiler Circulator?

On your boiler, there is a circulator that allows the water to circulate through the heating circuit. This water will pass through the expansion tank, the 3-bar valve, near the heat exchanger, and then flow into each open radiator in your home.
If you have a wall-mounted gas boiler, for example, which has a dual circuit (heating water and domestic hot water), the heating circuit water will raise the temperature of the DHW (domestic hot water) available for household use.
When a boiler is not used often, the circulator gets stuck; it locks up. You don’t need to keep a spare part in your closet to replace it; you just need to unlock it by opening the boiler and manipulating the pump.

Tools

To perform this operation, you will need:

• a flat screwdriver,
• some rags.

How to Free a Circulator (Text)

In case of a leak, you might also want to have a basin or bucket on hand.

SAM:
To unclog, free, or unblock… what does it all mean?
When restarting your boiler, the pump, the circulator, may not be functioning. Without the circulator, the water in the heating circuit does not move, and therefore neither does the heat.
To address this minor issue at the beginning of the winter season, you will need to unblock it.

THIERRY:
Take it easy, Polo, one step at a time. Don't forget to secure your work environment!
Now you can remove the front panel.

SAM:
Done! Now I can tackle the circulator!

THIERRY:
Steady! I told you earlier to secure your environment. Let your system cool down.

SAM:
This time, everything is good, right?

THIERRY:
That’s correct. A little water might escape.
Place a rag under the circulator and at the same time, unscrew the central screw of the circulator with your other hand.

SAM:
Oh no, the screw came out. Is that normal? Water is leaking!

THIERRY:
Relax, it’s normal! Now insert your screwdriver into the motor’s axis and turn it.

SAM:
There, it’s done. Is that it? Should I put the circulator and the boiler back together?

THIERRY:
Just replace the screw; we’re going to test the circulator before closing it all up.

SAM:
Alright, everything is running properly. Now you can put your boiler back together.